Queen of her Brooklyn Building

Queen of her Brooklyn Building, originally uploaded by TealDream.

Yvonne Mahmood, 81, sits in front of a neighbor's stoop recently in her Prospect Heights neighborhood. Born in Trinidad but raised in Venezuela, Mahmood has lived in the same apartment for 27 years, which makes her a self-proclaimed "Queen of the Building".

"I like everybody, everybody likes me," she says. "I'm the oldest in my building. Everybody tends to me like I'm a queen".

Dance Cloth Waves

Dance Cloth Waves, originally uploaded by TealDream.

A woman dances during a Dominican Carnaval in Washington Heights in July 2009.